'Spendthrift' son takes sister to court after father left her £500k in will but only gave him £3k harp

A "spendthrift" son who inherited his millionaire father's antique harp, but not a penny of his cash, is caught up in a legal battle over the will.

Leading harpist Jack Hayward triggered a family row when he left the lion's share of his £1.3 million fortune to his daughter, Fiona.

Now his son, Iain, is challenging his will at London's High Court, insisting his father was not in his right mind when he signed it.

Mr Hayward, who ran a well-known harp business as well as playing professionally, signed the will in 2013, five months before his death from cancer, aged 81.

She didn't induce her father to make a new will... nor did her statements poison his mind against his sonFiona Kunicki's barrister, Edward Hewitt

Iain, 54, received his father's "prized" 19th-century harp under a "letter of wishes" attached to the document.

He also got the remains of his father's business – much of which he owned already – and a few pictures and manuscripts the musician treasured.

The rest of Mr Hayward's fortune was split 50/50 between his daughter, Fiona Kunicki, and his five grandchildren, Judge Jonathan Klein QC heard.

Iain's own daughters, Yasmin and Sarah, got a slice of their grandfather's fortune, but Mr Hayward decided to "skip a generation" in his will.

Under the letter of wishes, Iain also inherited his father's collection of musical manuscripts and autographed photos of famous 20th-century harpists.

But Iain says the harp, the work of pioneering French instrument maker Sébastien Érard, is worth no more than £3,000.

That compares to 49-year-old Fiona's inheritance from their father, valued at about £500,000.

A Sébastien Érard harp, similar to the one that Iain Hayward was left by his fatherCredit:
CLIVE MORLEY HARPS

Iain, of Reading, Berkshire, claims his father was behaving "erratically and unreasonably" in the months before he died and was incapable of making a valid will.

Fiona insists that her father knew his own mind and viewed her brother as a "spendthrift".

Iain claims he did a deal with his sister, years before their "temperamental" father's death, to "split" his fortune should either of them be cut out of his will.

In court, Iain claimed that by July 2013 – a month before he signed the will – his father "didn't know exactly what he was doing".

His barrister, Owen Curry, said Mr Hayward had turned against his son in his final months – irrationally blaming him for a range of ills, such as problems with his heating and the disappearance of his iPad.

The musician's beliefs were "without substance", said the barrister, also accusing Fiona of being "involved in convincing her father that Iain had behaved poorly".

At one point, Fiona sent her father an email branding Iain a "chancer who, given the opportunity, may take more than he is entitled to", the court heard.

At the time, Iain was involved in dealing with the estate of their mother, Patricia, who died in 2008 after a long battle against Alzheimer's.

The family row has ended up at the High Court in LondonCredit:
NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP

But Fiona's barrister, Edward Hewitt, said all the evidence showed Mr Hayward's mind was functioning clearly when he made the disputed will.

"Iain's challenge simply doesn't get off the ground," he told Judge Klein.

Mr Hayward was genuinely aggrieved with his son and this had nothing whatever to do with Fiona, insisted the barrister.

"She didn't induce her father to make a new will as a result of her statements, and nor did her statements poison his mind against his son," he added.

There was evidence that the musician viewed his son as a "spendthrift" and someone who "spent his money rashly", Mr Hewitt said.

Mr Hayward was declared of sound mind by his GP before making his will, the court heard, and received professional legal advice.

He even "anticipated" his son's bitter opposition, telling his solicitor that "he feared his son will be very angry with the way he wishes to distribute his estate".

Iain Hayward, pictured outside the High Court, claims his father was behaving 'erratically and unreasonably' before he diedCredit:
NEV AYLING